Civic historian and author John Atkin speaks about the history of Vancouver's waterfront.

It’s hard to believe now but 100 years ago False Creek was a filthy, noisy industrial waterway lined with sawmills, shipyards, asphalt plants and a barrel factory. Burrard Inlet was alive with the docks, iron foundries, canneries and and even an aircraft factory. Today, the shoreline has undergone an extraordinary transformation and in this talk we’ll look at how these two bodies of water have changed.

About the speaker:

John Atkin is a civic historian and author who has explored Vancouver like few others have and offers an interesting and offbeat insight to the city's architecture, history and neighbourhoods. He has created, and conducts, a number of unique and popular walking tours throughout the City of Vancouver.

John brings an insight of urban planning and development, a love of architecture, and the fascination of the curious to all his tours and lectures. He has published numerous books and articles on the history of Vancouver, including: Heritage Walks Around Vancouver [1992] (with Michael Kluckner) and Strathcona: Vancouver's First Neighbourhood [1994] (both winners of the City of Vancouver Heritage Award), Vancouver Walks [2004, second ed. 2005] (with Michael Kluckner) and Skytrain Explorer [2005], The Changing City [2011] (with Andy Coupland).

Find out more about John at http://www.johnatkin.com/

This public lecture is part of Water's Edge Day 2014, a day of free and fun activities hosted by the Georgia Strait Alliance at the Vancouver Maritime Museum.